Alumina is one of the most preferred choices as catalyst support or as catalyst in most of the fixed bed processes. Synthesis of alumina with higher surface area, pore volume and with enhanced mechanical and thermal stability is one of the highly appreciated areas in academic as well as industries. The physico-chemical properties of support play a critical role in adsorption, dispersion (in some cases metal dispersion), diffusion, etc. Normal reported surface area of alumina used for hydrotreating is 280-300 m2/g with a pore volume of 0.7-1 cc/g. These physical properties further reduce while and/or after extrusion of the alumina.
In view of the increasing demand of highly active, selective, and long life-cycle catalyst, alumina extrudates with enhanced surface area, and pore volume are desirable while maintaining the required mechanical properties, which is an area of research since past few years. The improvement in surface area, pore volume and pore diameter would help in higher metal loading, better metal dispersion, and delay the deactivation of the catalyst due to mouth pore plugging.
Therefore, there remains a need to develop a process for preparing alumina and alumina extrudates that overcomes the drawbacks as described hereinabove.